Falling Jedi
by CJinn
Summary: Little did Obi-Wan Kenobi know that when he went on his first excursion outside the Jedi Temple, he would be abducted and taken away from his friends.
1. Chapter 1: Excursion

_**Disclaimer:** All characters in this story belongs to George Lucas/Disney, and thus no money based on this writing will ever find their way into my wallet. It's all for the fun of writing - and seeing othes read, and hopefully enjoy the story. _

_..._

 **Chapter 1: Excursion**

"…and when you have put your plates and utensils in the cleaner, please meet at the exit door. We're all going for an excursion to the Coruscant Historical Museum today. We will be accompanied by Padawans Ter Halen and Renij Jaa. "

The declaration was uttered by Creche Master Ali-Alann and received with stunned silence by his small proteges. Finally one small hand raised, and the question that was on everyones' lips was uttered: "Master, you mean out…like…outside the Temple?"

Ali-Alann let out an inaudible sigh. This happened every time a group of initiates were to see the world outside the Temple for the first time. They hardly could believe it. In their first years as initiates they were kept strictly inside the Temple area and their outdoor experience was limited to the many gardens that belonged to the Temple. The world outside was partly too overwhelming to the smaller initiates and with all the hustle and bustle going on outside the risk of losing someone in the heavily trafficked walkways was considered too high. On the other hand, sooner or later they had to get used to the world outside the Temple's protective walls too, so the first excursion usually took place when they were about 4-5 standard years old.

Fortunately the historical museum was located in the vicinity of the Temple so hopefully all 20 would come back unharmed. It would be only one short journey with a shuttle stopping outside the Temple and then a short walk (on short legs) to actually reach the museum. Yes, it was a suitable target for the younglings' first meeting with the world outside.

"When we leave the main gate of the Temple, please keep your place in the line at all times and keep an eye on the one beside you. Padawan Jaa will walk behind us and Padawan Halen will walk to the side of the group. The traffic is heavy so we don't want anyone to get lost or fall behind. Is that understood?"

Twenty tiny voiced answered in unison: "Yes, Master."

…

"Do you think we will see any speeders, Obi?" Garen Muln's interest of anything that were made by mechanical parts and could hoover more than a meter above any solid surface was well known and his friend, his best friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi restrained himself from rolling his eyes.

"Sure. We're going out! There are all kinds of vehicles out there."

Sometimes he really felt like a Master in stating the obvious.

The two boys lined up side by side as the last couple of initiates in the row and waited patiently while Ali-Alann counted.

"Good, we're all here. Let's go."

In an unusual disciplined manner the group of 4-5 years old children left the room and the small procession continued towards the main entrance. The two assigned padawans were following. The massive main doors of the Temple were opened and they were out in the public areas for the first time in their young lives. Carefully they moved down the stairs towards the shuttle station.

"Garen, come on! We must not fall behind!" Obi-Wan tugged his friend's sleeve with an uncharacteristic impatient mien.

"I'm coming, but look at that yellow striped speeder…" Garen could hardly concentrate on moving forward since there were so many moving vehicles to see, and so little time.

A friendly reminder from Padawan Jaa, made them increase their speed and they managed to board the shuttle just as it was about to leave.

…

The shuttle was a totally new experience for the younglings. In the Temple they were taught how to shield their emotions from an early age, but here - amidst a crowd non-shielding individs the impressions became almost overwhelming.

"Why don't they shield their emotions?" Garen wondered.

"Duh, they don't know how to do it. They're not Jedi," was Siri Tachi's prompt answer.

Obi-Wan was listening to his friends banter, trying to sort out all the feelings and impressions that were floating all around him. There was an old man sitting in the corner of the shuttle, almost asleep. Closer to them two young Rodian were giggling over some unknown joke and he felt there joy and apprehension over something that they had planned to do later in the evening. And somewhere, somehow a feeling of something…threatening was creeping closer to him. It was a most unpleasant feeling. Still, nothing was to be seen that could explain the feeling.

The shuttle came to a halt and the younglings exited in a fairly ordered manner. Actually the only accident that happened was that Padawan Jaa for a moment was stuck in the sliding doors when he followed the last little initiate out.

One block down they could see the impressing phased of the Historical Museum. Large stone pillars were forming the entrance, while the outer walls were made of transparisteel and durasteel panels.

"Everyone is out," Padawan Jaa proclaimed and Ali-Alann led his small troop towards the entrance.

The grand staircase leading up to the entrance was a sight to see. It was built with replica wood to remind the visitors about the vast forests that had covered the city planet in it's earliest days, before the city grew to cover it's entire surface. For the active younglings it was also an exciting climb and the disciplined double row of initiates disintegrated slightly as they climbed the stair. Garen Muln, however lagged behind. Slightly to the left of the staircase he had spotted a brand new Gian V-44 speeder and he couldn't resist the urge to lag behind the others to get a better look at the beauty.

The result was that Obi-Wan for a moment was left alone by the foot of the staircase, looking after his disappearing friend with large green-blue eyes. "Ga….," he tried to yell, and then his mouth was covered by a huge hand who choke the scream before he managed to get more than the first syllable out. The next he knew was that he was lifted up by strong arms and carried away. The attacker held him in a firm grip and there was no way he could manage to free his arms, much less run away from the attacker.

For a moment fear struck him. He did not want to be separated from his friends, he did not want to lose his creche master, he didn't like to be held and he most certainly didn't like to be carried away like a…a…baby. Force, he was a big boy now. So he kicked backwards with all the force his almost 5 years' old legs could muster. And his captor's grip loosened. Obviously the kick had hit a vulnerable place.

Obi-Wan was free.

Way to free, it seemed. He fell. The captor had been too close to the edge of the walkway when the kick hit it's goal and as his grip loosened and Obi-Wan wriggled out of it, he fell. Only thin air surrounded his body.

 _Not good._

The thought struck him as he saw railings and walkways pass by in a blur. He hadn't expected _this_. His intention had been to get away from his captor and run back to his friends, but that was definitely not an option for the moment. He had to stop the fall somehow.

His mind raced back to one of Yoda's lessons where the old Grand Master had demonstrated how to let the Force protect his fall when he let himself drop from one of the beams high up under the ceiling in dojo #3. If only he could do that himself… Then maybe he wouldn't hit whatever was beneath him like a rotten muja.

He relaxed. The Force would carry him, it would protect him. After all the Force was a part of, well, everything. So said Master Yoda, and he was the wisest Jedi that ever lived so it had to be true.

The speed diminished slightly.

 _I must leave it to the Force. The ground won't harm me, nor will the railings or the walkways. We're of the Force, we're one…_

The speed reduced even more.

 _"I can do it,"_ was Obi-Wan's last conscious thought before he hit a figure passing by on the walkway right under him.

"Oooofffff!" was the last sound he heard before everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2: Falling Jedi

**Chapter 2: Falling Jedi**

Obi-Wan slowly regained his consciousness. Everything hurt, and carefully he tried to move a leg. Obviously he succeeded because the ground below him exclaimed a loud and clear "Ow!"

Wait? This was all wrong. The ground should definitely not speak to him, that much he knew. And the ground began to move. Obi-Wan rolled to the left and looked directly into a young man, well…not man but definitely a being which was humanoid.

"Where in all the stars' and moons' orbits did you come from?" the young man asked, slightly superfluous.

"I fell," Obi-Wan explained, "someone took me, and I fell."

The being in front of him sat up and scratched his neck.

"Where did you fall from?"

"There!" Obi-Wan pointed up in the air.

The stranger tried a new approach.

"Who took you, and why?"

Obi-Wan stared blankly at him. "Dunno'. I was about to climb the stairs and then Garen ran off and someone took me."

"I kicked him," he added with some satisfaction, "and then I fell down here."

The dizziness was slowly disappearing and he got a better look at the being in front of him. It, or he, was rather slim. He had a tanned leathery face which somehow reminded Obi-Wan of a skull he had seen in a book once. His eyes were covered by goggles and he was dressed in leggings, a plain shirt and a sync-leather vest.

"Who are you?" he asked curiously. The being in front of him seemed, if not friendly, so at least not too dangerous. Obi-Wan even believed he could see a glimpse of humor in the dark eyes behind the goggles.

"Hondo Ohnaka, at your service," the man answered and even managed to deliver a slight ironic bow as he carefully stood up from the ground, "and who may you be, young one?"

"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi," Obi-Wan answered and stood up as well, happy to realize that he was able to stand. Then he stretched his right hand towards the stranger as he had been taught was a proper way to greet a stranger. "Pleased to meet you, Sir."

A low chuckle escaped Hondo. "So, now, that's the first time someone has called me 'Sir'. Pleased to meet you as well young Kenobi. Uh…what's that?"

His sharp eyes had detected an unusual movement in the crowd. Someone was approaching them and they did so fast, and he decided to run. Then it struck him - the boy had said someone had taken him, and that said someone had tried to carry him away. What if the fast moving someone was the very same 'someone' that had tried to abduct the boy from whoever his family might be? Well, that wasn't really his business? Was it? The he turned to run.

"Where are you going, Sir? Can you please tell me where I am and how I can get back home before you go?"

Hondo cast a glance at the small boy and made one of his life's very few unselfish decisions.

"Come here, boy," he said and grabbed the boy's small hand,"I think we need to get away from here, or else there may be no use in me telling you anything."

Then he began running.

He weaved through the crowd in a speed that witnessed of long experience in fleeing from other beings, and before long Obi-Wan's much shorter legs were almost giving up in following the Weequay's long strides. For the second time this day he felt himself lifted off the ground as Hondo grabbed him around his waist and continued running. They turned left and right and then down some levels and then to the left again. The area they were approaching seemed less crowded than the level above, and in an unnoticed moment Hondo opened a door in huge building and slid in. Then he dropped Obi-Wan to the floor and bent over panting.

"I….think we…..lost them…," he gasped, trying to catch his long gone breath. "What are your parents feeding you, boy? You're heavier than you seem."

"I have no parents," Obi-Wan answered.

"Everyone have parents, boy. Even you. Are they wealthy? I bet they would ble glad to have you back safe and sound, so don't you think they would pay me a minor…ah…compensation for taking so good care of you?" he suggested. "I wonder how much they would be willing to give?"

Obi-Wan sighed.

"I don't have parents," he said again, "I'm a Jedi."

Hondo's eyes almost popped out of his head in astonishment.

"Jedi? No way. You're too small."

Obi-Wan felt a sudden urge to make a very little Jedi-like stomp with his foot in the ground.

"I _am_ a Jedi, and we don't have credits so they won't pay you anything, I'm afraid," he explained.

Hondo sighed dramatically and slapped his palm to his own forehead.

"By all the stars. The only time a wealthy looking boy is raining down on me from heaven and I have the possibility to earn some honestly achieved credits for my good care of him, he's a Jedi, and I cannot have any."

"You haven't taken care of me yet," Obi-Wan shot in. "I'm hungry."

"You're…what? Do you think I run a restaurant here? There is no food around."

Obi-Wan's lower lip quivered for a moment. Then he managed to calm himself. This would be a long evening in the companionship of the weird but rather kind Weequay in front of him, but he was hungry, tired and he was missing his friends and Ali-Alann and he didn't like the world outside the Temple one tiny bit. It was… _unfriendly_."

Hondo watched the boy's facial expression change and for a moment he felt something that might have been compassion. He shook off the unwanted feeling and began rummaging around in a bag that was resting on the floor. Finally he found what he was looking for. He grabbed the piece of dry bread and threw it in Obi-Wan's direction. Obi-Wan had no problem catching it in mid-air.

"Eat!" Hondo ordered. "And then you can take the blanket and lay down over there. We need to stay out of sight in case your pursuers are roaming the streets. Let's rest here in my humble home until dawn and then we can try to get you back to the Jedi Temple."

"Will you really take me back there, mister?" Obi-Wan brightened visually by the thought. If he managed to get back home in one piece he would _really_ have a story to tell his friends.

"Seems like I have no choice. I cannot take you with me, and besides you eat too much i cannot afford it. Steal.…uh…finding food for myself is hard enough. And I cannot kill you. My own good mother would kill _me_ if the rumors of me killing a child reached her ears. She's a warm and caring person, my mother, even though she sold me to slavers when I was a child."

"She _sold_ you?" Obi-Wan's surprise was almost palpable.

"She sure did. I guess she needed the money. I just hope the slavers paid her my true value. Then she must be quite rich by now. Maybe I should go back and claim my fair share of it? Anyways, I managed to escape the slavers and stow myself away on an off world ship and here I am," he finished. "But for now, sleep."

And with that he laid down on the dirty floor and fell asleep with the now empty bag as a pillow.

For a moment Obi-Wan thought of sneaking out of the hiding, but then he realized that he had no clue where he was and how to find the Jedi Temple. It seemed like his best chance was to follow Hondo's lead and hope that the man really would take him home the following day.

He finished the rather stony piece of bread he had been given and wrapped the blanket around him. Soon he was asleep too.


	3. Chapter 3: Homecoming

**Chapter 3: Homecoming**

"Where is Obi-Wan?"

After Padawan Jaa had reined in Garen and returned to the rest of the group on top of the stairs Ali-Alann found it best to count his troops, or in this case, his initiates. He found 19. Counting once more. Still 19.

"He was at the bottom of the stairs when Garen ran off," Padawan Jaa explained. "I thought he had caught up with the rest of you so when Garen and I came back I didn't search down there." Jaa hung his head and looked slightly ashamed.

"Well, we must find Obi-Wan. He cannot have come far in the short time he's been out of sight. You start looking now and I'll call the Temple and ask them to send out a search party. For the rest of us, we will return to the Temple as soon as the search party is in place. We can always come back here another day. Until then, stay close together and keep an eye on the initiate next to you. We don't want any more to wander off on their own."

A thin voice chimed in: "Master? I didn't think of it then, but half way up the stairs I stopped and looked down, and then I saw a man, a human, run away with a child in his arms. What if that was Obi-Wan?"

Ali-Alann startled. Through all the years this excursion had been arranged there had been no problems related to it. The worst case they had experienced was when one little initiate was left behind in the shuttle and had to be picked up from the end station later on. Someone kidnapping a Jedi initiate was unheard of, and if the suspicion was true, what would be the motive?

"I believe that couldn't have been Obi-Wan you saw, but we will inform the search party about it anyways so they are aware of the possibility. Most likely Obi-Wan saw something interesting like Garen did and wandered off to take a closer look, and then couldn't find his way back to us. I'm sure we will find him pretty soon," he added soothingly.

…

"Wake up, kid. We have to go."

Obi-Wan woke up from his sleep by a firm grip on his shoulder, and for a moment he believed he was happily back in his own bed in the creche. Then he noticed the rough brick floor he was sleeping on and yesterday's events caught up with him.

He blinked and saw the Weequay's leathery face right above him.

"Up. Now!"

Reluctantly he rose and rolled his sore shoulders. Really, a good mattress could not be overestimated compared to sleeping on a stone floor.

"Yes, Ma…uh…Sir."

"Come on. Let's get out of here. We don't want your 'friend' from yesterday to wake up and start looking for you again."

"My friend?"

"Your kidnapper."

Hondo opened the door and peeked out. The walkway outside was deserted as it for some reason he hadn't yet fathomed used to be in this part of the city. Actually it was quite weird. Coruscant was basically overcrowded on all levels, but this particular area was almost deserted. He had never really found a reason for the phenomenon, but he was grateful for the effect. Though he had learned to fight and fight well while he still was on the run from the slavers, he preferred some…well…peace and quiet in his little home.

The unlikely pair stepped quietly out on the walkway, and set off down towards the more populated area of the city.

Obi-Wan followed his guide quietly.

 _Is this the way it will be when I grow up and get a Master? Will we be on the run and sleep on floors and be hungry all the time? No, I don't think so. Mr. Hondo is NOT a master, that's for sure, so Master and I won't have to hide like this. I think. If I ever get a Master that is. Maybe they will expel me now? Nobody have been so clumsy that they have been taken away on an excursion before, so maybe I'm too stupid to be a Padawan? What shall I do then? I don't know my birth parents and if they throw me out I may have to live on the street. Maybe Mr. Hondo would take care of me if so? He's not, I think, a really good person. I can sense it. But he's not evil either. I think maybe he's just…doing what he must._

"Hurry up, boy. We need to get up some levels and fast, before too many wake up down here." Hondo's voice interrupted Obi-Wan's trail of thoughts and he looked up at his companion.

"We will have to climb. There are no turbo lifts down here. There used to be one in that building but I know there are people staying there now so we don't take the chance of using it."

Obi-Wan merely nodded. He could climb. That was a part of the basic training for the initiates and he was quite agile for a human.

The walkways and air lanes were relatively quiet at this time of the day and they made good progress towards the Temple. As far as Obi-Wan could see they were following another route than the one they had used the day before. In nooks and crannies between abandoned buildings he could see individuals of various species slumbering, a few of them stirring lightly as Obi-Wan and Hondo passed by. As they ascended the surroundings became less worn out and more daylight seeped down to the walkway. The central tower of the Temple could be seen from a distance.

They were approaching the Temple entrance level when Obi-Wan suddenly got a very bad feeling. Something was going to happen, and it would not be pleasant. He just knew it.

"Mister…Sir… I can feel something." He tugged Hondo's sleeve to get the man's attention.

"What is it, kid? If you need to pee this is not the right time or place."

Obi-Wan's face immediately took a deep crimson color. He was not used to such frivolous language about bodily functions. That was something you _whispered_ to Master Ali-Alann if you couldn't find a restroom yourself.

"No! It's not that, it's just that…something is going to happen soon."

"Yes, soon we will be in front of that Temple of yours and I can hand you over to your Jedi superiors and hopefully get well paid for delivering you back safe and sound. Then I can get back to my life again."

"Yes, but…" Whatever Obi-Wan was about to say was interrupted by a blaster shot that hit the Weequay's shoulder. Hondo screamed out by the stinging pain and clasped his shoulder tightly. The scream was followed by a curse that definitely not was a part of the vocabulary taught in the creche of the Jedi Temple.

In that very moment a man stepped forward and grabbed Obi-Wan's arm.

"Now, kid. Come here with me and don't kick up a fuss."

Obi-Wan could feel the man dragging him along towards the buildings he had come from, and tried to wriggle out of the firm grip, but the man was too strong.

He didn't come far.

Over the year's Hondo had had his fair share of blaster shots and injuries and as soon as the first shock was absorbed he realized that the wound was only a light flesh wound that probably would heal in some days. Fortunately the Weequay's leathery skin formed a certain protection towards blaster bolts, so the effect was far less than it would have been to a human. For a moment he thought of just leaving and let the stranger wander off with the boy, but again some well hidden consciousness stopped him.

"You don't go anywhere with that boy! He's mine to deliver back to to his guardians."

And with that he threw himself towards the man. Bailed fists hit the man's jaw and a low grunt could be heard. Then he felt his opponent's fist hit his torso and obviously aiming for his jaw.

Obi-Wan stood speechless while the fistfight continued, but then - in a glimpse- he saw the attacker reach for the blaster he had tucked into his belt. From such a short distance even the Weequay's tough skin wouldn't be enough to prevent severe damage from a blaster.

"No! Don't shoot!" Obi-Wan screamed and in that very moment he felt his mind become very still and quiet. He was a Jedi. He should prevent harm from coming to people and Hondo was his _friend_ … He would _not_ let the attacker harm the man who had saved him twice in equally many days. He felt the Force gather and stretched out with it, very much in the same way as he did when they played Force ball in the creche. The blaster lifted from the attacker's belt in the same moment as he was about to grasp it. Instead his grip met thin air while the blaster flew through the air and over the edge of the walkway.

"Run, boy. Run!" Hondo's voice was shouting out in the early morning. For a moment Obi-Wan was reluctant to obey. Leaving a friend in battle was not the Jedi way, and the fistfight between the two men continued.

"Run!" Hondo repeated, and Obi-Wan took off towards the Temple stairs ahead. Maybe he could get help for his friend if he managed to get back home unharmed.

…

The Temple guards were awaiting change of guards when they saw something, or rather someone, came running up the stairs towards them. A small boy, clad in Jedi garments was stumbling up the last steps of the stair.

"Help!" he breathed. "Someone must help Mister Hondo."

The two guards cast a surprised glance at each other. Who was Hondo, and why did this initiate come running up the stairs at a time of the day when initiates were supposed to wake up and get out of their beds _inside_ the Temple?

"Whoa! Who are you and why are you outside the Temple?" one of them asked.

"I was taken….yesterday….and Hondo helped….me. And…he's in trouble now," the boy finished, still very much short of breath after his sprint up the stairs. "Help him, please."

The two guards looked at each other again.

"There was an initiate from Ali-Alann's group who got lost after the First Excursion yesterday. This must be him. Take him inside and ask Ali-Alann to come here. And while you're at it - try to get some Knights to take a look in the surroundings to see if there is something going on and to try to help this Hondo figure, whoever he might be."

The other guard nodded and gestured to Obi-Wan to follow him inside: "We will send someone to look for your…friend. What does he look like?"

"He is thin and very tan, and he looks a bit scary. But he is kind, I think."

And with that Obi-Wan was ushered into the Temple.

Ali-Alann came a couple of minutes later.

"Obi-Wan, there you are. What happened to you?"

"Master!" Obi-Wan was so happy to see his Creche Master again that he nearly began crying, but then he remembered that crying would be very little Jedi-like so he refrained from doing so. Then he straightened and gave a small proper bow to his superior. "It's good to be back."

Immediately he was scooped up in Ali-Alann's strong arms and got a bear like hug.

"What happened to you?" the master repeated.

"I saw Garen run and wasn't sure what to do, and then a man lifted me up and ran," Obi-Wan explained.

"A man? What did he look like?" Ali-Alann asked.

"I don't know. He was human, but he held his hand over my mouth and was behind me so I didn't see him. And then I kicked him and I fell."

"You fell?"

"Yes, and I did as Master Yoda said and tried to wrap myself in the Force, and when I hit Hondo's head I wasn't really hurt but everything ached though."

"You hit Hondo's head? Who is Hondo and why did you hit him?"

"I…he…he was kind and he took care of me. And I fell on his head from above after I had kicked the naughty man."

Ali-Alann tried to conclude: "OK, let me see if I got this. Someone took you and when you kicked him he lost his grip and you fell. Then you fell several levels down and managed to use the Force so you wasn't badly hurt by the fall, but you landed onto an unlucky bypassed named Hondo?"

"Yesss!" Obi-Wan confirmed happily. "And Hondo gave me bread to eat though it was almost like a stone and then we slept and today he followed me back, but then this guy came back again and wanted me to follow him and Hondo said no, and he fought the guy and then I used the Force to remove his blaster and…."

Ali-Alann felt slightly dizzy. This was too much to take in.

"But where is this Hondo person now? And who was trying to abduct you again?"

"Hondo asked me to run while he was fighting, and I think the man who grabbed me was the same who took me away yesterday," Obi-Wan explained.

"I see,"Ali-Alann confirmed thoughtfully. He really had to ask the Council for a meeting to discuss this. It didn't make sense that someone was out to abduct a single Jedi initiate, and for some reason they, whoever 'they' were seemed to go specifically after Obi-Wan.

"Well, now, after what you told me about your evening meal I assume you're quite hungry by now. I suggest we get you back to the creche and give you a shower and clean clothing, and then you'll have morning meal with the others. I think, under the circumstances you can be allowed to rest in your own bed for the rest of the morning and then join the others for the afternoon's activities."

"Thank you, Master," Obi-Wan said politely. A decent meal was definitely on his list of "want to do" right now.

…

30 minutes later a neatly scrubbed Obi-Wan was sitting by the table in the creche awaiting his fellow initiates for the morning meal.

Bant Eerin was the first to recognize him.

"Obi! Where have you been?" she squealed. "We were so worried when you disappeared. Promise me you never do that again."

"Obi! Good to have you back. What happened?" Garen Muln tried to be a bit more mature in his greeting of his friend.

"Well, you see….When I was about to climb the stairs someone lifted me up and ran away with me and then….."

In-between munches of a long anticipated morning meal Obi-Wan continued to tell about his adventure.

….

In the lower parts of Coruscant a slim figure was slightly dragging his feet back to his hideout. The fistfight had been short lived after the Jedi kid somehow had managed to remove the attacker's blaster and with a last solid punch towards the attacker's chin Hondo had managed to get rid of the man and seen him fall into the abyss towards the level below.

"I hope the troublesome little rascal made it back to the Temple," he sighed. "I hope I never ever see Jedi raining down from heaven again. Actually, I never want to meet a _Jedi_ again wherever they may come from."


End file.
